1.Introduction
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an inter-governmental international organization, comprised of Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia. It was established with the aim to promote regional political, economic and social cooperation through dialogue.
The Bangkok Declaration was signed by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in 1967, launching the start of ASEAN. Brunei joined in 1984, and Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999.
2.Regional Security
ASEAN was established during the Vietnam War so as to help contain the spread of communism. In the Cold War era, ASEAN also played a role in maintaining the social and political stability of the region. In 1971, ASEAN declared that Southeast Asia, as a region that espouses peace, freedom and neutrality, would remain neutral.
With the end of the Cold War era, ASEAN adopted new principles and measures for ensuring regional security, leading to the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1993. However, the ARF concentrated on fostering discussion rather than engaging in intervention. Its key responsibilities include the publication of white papers on regional military cooperation and transparency, promotion of military exchanges and establishment of a network of experts once conflicts erupt.
Cooperation in military affairs and counter-terrorism among Southeast Asian countries are based on mutual concern and trust. In most cases, cooperation is bilateral in nature, such as between Singapore and Malaysia or between Singapore and Thailand.
As ASEAN makes its decisions through consensus and maintains a policy of non-interference, its member states are apt to defend their interests and resist regional integration. For example, safeguards in the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism signed in 2007 allow member states to withdraw from the organization at anytime. In addition, Article III of the Convention upholds “the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and that of non-interference in the internal affairs of other Parties.” Like most ASEAN pacts, the convention can only bind those countries willing to abide by the stipulations.
3.ASEAN Charter
To further deepen the integration of ASEAN member countries, the 11th ASEAN Summit in 2005 adopted a resolution to formulate a charter. In the 13th ASEAN Summit in 2007, the draft charter was formally adopted and passed on to the member states for ratification. On December 15, 2008, ASEAN’s charter entered into force, making ASEAN an international legal person.
After its charter took effect, ASEAN followed the EU example by pursuing integration from three pillars: the political-security community, economic community and socio-cultural community, with integration to be completed in 2015.
The ASEAN member states differ widely in terms of political systems, degree of economic development, social norms, cultures and religions. On top of this, border conflicts occasionally erupt between Thailand and Cambodia, and between Indonesia and Malaysia. Therefore, only time will tell whether ASEAN can complete its integration as scheduled.
4.Trade Growth through Economic Integration
In 2009, the difference of per capita income among ASEAN countries ranged from US$209 to US$50,000. Due to the vast spread in economic development, great challenges hamper economic integration and the dismantling of trade barriers. In spite of this, owing to the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in January 1992, trade volume among ASEAN nations jumped from US$79 billion in 1993 to US$404 billion in 2007.
In accordance with the ASEAN Charter adopted at the end of 2008, the 10 ASEAN nations aim to realize the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, which would reduce all tariffs to 0%. However, as the current tariff rates is already below 2% for the six more developed nations, ASEAN nations may lack the incentive to sign a related FTA in the short run. In addition, corruption and unfair judicial systems may make such an FTA unenforceable, thereby having the effect of a trade barrier.
5.Economic Integration between ASEAN and Other Countries
Regional economic integration between ASEAN and East Asian countries often is called “ASEAN+1” (ASEAN+China, ASEAN+Japan, or ASEAN+South Korea), ASEAN+3 (ASEAN+China, Japan and South Korea) and the East Asia Summit (ASEAN+6, that is mainland China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India). In terms of promoting economic and trade liberalization, ASEAN has signed FTAs or comprehensive economic cooperation agreements with mainland China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India. Ultimately, a free trade network spanning 3 billion people and encompassing an annual economic output of US$9 trillion will be formed.
The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area has been fully implemented in 2010. At this time, mainland China and six ASEAN nations (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei) will reduce their industrial tariffs to 0%. The other four ASEAN nations (Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) will reach this goal in 2015. ASEAN and South Korea signed an FTA at the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in June 2009. ASEAN also signed FTAs with New Zealand and Australia after the 14th ASEAN Summit in February 2009. Likewise, ASEAN and Japan signed the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in April 2008 in hopes of gradually granting tariff concessions and eliminating non-tariff trade barriers with trading partners in other regions.
6.Financial Crisis and the Chiang Mai Initiative
After the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the 13 countries party to the ASEAN+3 formed the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) to establish multilateral foreign exchange mechanisms and resolve the capital shortages caused by the crisis. In February 2009, the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting increased the CMI Fund, a multilateral finance program, from the US$80 billion standard set in 2008 to US$120 billion so as to bolster the response to the financial crisis. In the ASEAN+3 Finance Minister Meeting in May 2009, it was decided that the CMI funding ratio should be: ASEAN countries 20%, and mainland China, Japan and South Korea 80%. The Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) was signed at the end of the same year and entered into force on March 24, 2010.
The global financial crisis of 2008 could stimulate trade within the region and decrease imports from countries in other regions, such as the United States. ASEAN has yet to establish a mechanism for settling trade disputes. Thus, in response to the global financial crisis, some countries have adopted restrictive trade measures to protect their domestic industries, which negate FTAs. As a result, ASEAN announced its goal to form an economic community in 2015. Although ASEAN is more integrated than it was 20 years ago, it is unlikely that it can reach the degree of integration enjoyed by the European Union at that time.
7.Human Rights
Ten member states of the ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Charter in October 2008. Those member states with less than stellar human rights records, such as Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, were hesitant to establish an ASEAN human rights body, as called for by the charter. Brunei and Singapore also expressed concerns that the body might empower ASEAN to interfere in the domestic affairs of the member states. After further talks among the parties, ASEAN disregarded the objections of Indonesia and the Philippines and decided to settle for the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which has neither enforcement power nor authority.
8.The Myanmar Issue
The ASEAN Charter remains committed to the principles of consensus-based decision-making and non-interference. However, the developments after Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar in 2008 showed that ASEAN is willing to take tougher measures. After the cyclone, the military government of Myanmar only agreed to limited international relief and insisted that the relief goods be distributed by the military. A special meeting of the foreign ministers from ASEAN countries was thus convened, resulting in their call upon the Myanmar military government to allow international relief workers into the disaster areas, given the unprecedented scale of damage. The ASEAN secretary-general, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, visited Yangon to negotiate with the military government, which eventually agreed to admit the international relief workers. Nonetheless, the continued house-arrest of Myanmar’s opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, demonstrates ASEAN’s inability in enforcing human rights and keeping Myanmar in line due to the need to respect the principles of consensus-based decision-making and non-interference. For various reasons, the ASEAN member states have given different responses to Myanmar’s violation of human rights. For instance, as 20% of the electricity generated in Thailand relies on natural gas imported from Myanmar, it, like countries with poor human rights records, is reluctant to see ASEAN interfere in Myanmar’s affairs, which may affect their own interests.
9.ASEAN-mainland China Relations
Mainland China became a full partner of the dialogue mechanism of the ASEAN+1 and the ASEAN+3 formulas in 1997. Later in November 2002, the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation was signed to establish the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA). China and six of ASEAN’s founding member states aim to fully realize ACFTA in 2010, with the remaining four founding states following suit in 2015. In the end, they will achieve the comprehensive liberalization of their trade relations.
In addition to the reduction or elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, the ACFTA includes the liberalization of the service industry, investments, intellectual property rights, as well as the elimination of technical barriers to trade. As the scope of cooperation reaches beyond that of previous trade agreements, the ACFTA is expected to strengthen the economic and trade relations among the participants and hasten regional integration by encouraging countries like Japan and South Korea to embrace the integration of East Asia.
Besides signing the ASEAN+1 FTA, mainland China has made huge investments in ASEAN member states. On April 12, 2009, mainland China’s minister of foreign affairs, Yang Jiechi, announced the establishment of the US$10 billion China-ASEAN Investment and Cooperation Fund. This fund aims to reinforce the communication mechanisms between the two and calls for mainland China to provide ASEAN US$15 billion in credits over a span of three to five years, including US$1.7 billion in loans with preferential terms. All these will further strengthen and deepen the relations between mainland China and ASEAN.
Mainland China welcomes the development of closer economic relations between its East Asian neighbors and ASEAN, as this should help alleviate the worries of the ASEAN member states about the rise of mainland China. This development in turn helps mainland China to make inroads in the region and dilute the influences of the United States and other economic powers. Mainland China is seeking to counter the power of the United States and Europe in Southeast Asia. At the same time, the growing relations between mainland China and ASEAN is forming a major hurdle to the development of relations between Taiwan and ASEAN. Therefore, the development of cross-strait relations will be a key variable in ASEAN’s formulation of strategies for engaging with Taiwan.
10.ASEAN Regional Forum
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was first held in 1994 as a formal platform for official multilateral dialogue with the aim to promote relations among countries in the Asia Pacific region through confidence-building measures and preventive diplomatic mechanism. Thus far, 27 countries and international organizations participate in the ARF: the ten ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, mainland China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, the United States and Sri Lanka. Since its establishment, the ARF has kept Taiwan at bay and veered away from cross-strait issues.
11.Establishment of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center
To implement President Ma Ying-jeou’s diplomatic policies and promote understanding of ASEAN, MOFA commissioned the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, a domestic think tank, to set up the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center (TASC). The goal is to foster a friendly atmosphere for Taiwan’s participation in ASEAN’s economic integration and mechanisms through track-two dialogue between the TASC and major think tanks in ASEAN member states. The TASC also will communicate with mainland China’s think tanks that focus on ASEAN issues in hopes of abating mainland China’s interference in the economic and functional exchanges between Taiwan and ASEAN.
At the opening ceremony for TASC on December 16, 2009, President Ma Ying-jeou was invited to make some remarks. Those attending the opening ceremony and the conference afterward included pundits in the political and academic circles of Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Also present were 57 people from eight ASEAN member states who participated in the 2009 Taiwan Study Camp for Future Leaders from Southeast Asia. They discussed such topics as the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on East Asia’s economy and regional integration and ways for Taiwan to strengthen its cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.
This year, the TASC will co-host ASEAN+Taiwan forums and seminars with think tanks from ASEAN member states. Discussions will abate the concerns of ASEAN members by focusing on the areas in which Taiwan can play a beneficial role, such as trade, investment, science, technology, labor, agriculture, and medical care. The TASC also will call on major think tanks researching ASEAN issues in Southeast Asia.
The TASC provides MOFA with suggestions on the expansion of Taiwan’s cooperation with ASEAN member states and think tanks in East Asia; on the future development of trade and economic integration in ASEAN, East Asia and the Asia Pacific; as well as on the promotion of substantive cooperation between the industries of Taiwan and those of ASEAN member states. Further information can be found at TASC’s website: http://www.aseancenter.org.tw.